Chimborazo

The former Charly's Polleria has gone Ecuadorian, spiffed up by a few photos and hand-woven cloths and, on occasion, live flute-and-guitar folk music. The tasty llapingachos, which resemble cheese-filled mashed-potato pancakes, are as good as the patacones, green plantains that have been squashed into thin disks and fried until they taste like potato chips with more body and soul. This is home cooking of Ecuador's indigenous people: stewed chicken, roasted pork served with hominy, and dense slices of halibut in a mild coconut sauce. Soups are an important part of Ecuadorian cuisine, and the caldo de bolas de verde and catfish soup both have delightfully light, peanut-y broths; the former contains a vegetable-filled plantain dumpling, the latter has fish fillets, yucca hunks, and fresh cilantro. Another unusual find: a milkshake made with tomato de arbol, also known as tamarillo or "tree tomato," which has a sweet-tart tang of passion fruit mixed with tomato, and an earthiness like ground cherries.